Celtics (7-2) at Grizzlies (4-5) 11/13

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Boston Celtics (7-2) at Grizzlies (4-5)
Saturday, November 13
8:00 PM ET
Game #10, Road Game #6
TV: CSNNE, SSO-MEM, NBA-LP 759/760
Radio: WEEI, WRBO
Fed Ex Forum


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Rajon Rondo 10.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 14.9 APG, 3.0 SPG
Mike Conley 14.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 7.7 APG, 3.1 SPG

Shooting Guard
vs
Ray Allen 19.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.1 APG, .446 3P%
OJ Mayo 16.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.6 APG, .435 3P%

Small Forward
vs
Paul Pierce 20.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.7 APG, .485 FG%
Rudy Gay 25.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 2.7 APG, .511 FG%

Power Forward
vs
Kevin Garnett 15.1 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.6 BPG
Zach Randolph 16/4 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.0 BPG

Center
vs
Shaquille O'Neal 7.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 0.8 APG, 2.3 BPG
Marc Gasol 11.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.4 APG, 0.9 BPG




Boston Bench Mob
Marquis Daniels
Glen Davis
Luke Harangody
Nate Robinson
Von Wafer
Semih Erden

Injured
Kendrick Perkins (knee) out
Avery Bradley (ankle) out
Delonte West Suspended
Shaquille O'Neal (knee) Probable
Jermaine O'Neal (knee) out


Grizzlies Bench Players
Xavier Henry
Hasheem Thabeet
Acie Law
Darrell Arthur
Tony Allen
Sam Young
Greivis Vasquez
Hamed Haddadi
DeMarre Carroll

Injuries
None

Team Connections
Tony Allen played for the Celtics from 2004‐10 and was a member of the 2008 NBA Championship team
Darrell Arthur, Xavier Henry and Paul Pierce attended the University of Kansas
Ray Allen, Hasheem Thabeet and Rudy Gay attended the University of Connecticut
Grizzlies Assistant Coach Damon Stoudamire and Jermaine O’Neal were teammates in Portland from 1998‐2000

Key Matchups
vs
Ray Allen is coming off an incredible shooting night against the Heat and hopefully he will continue his hot hand in this game. OJ Mayo is capable of a big game himself and so Ray's defense will be needed in this game also.

vs
Paul Pierce 20.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.7 APG, .485 FG%
Rudy Gay 25.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 2.7 APG, .511 FG%
Rudy Gay is leading the Grizzlies in scoring and so for the second game in a row Pierce will have a tough defensive assignment. Limiting Rudy's scoring will be key for the Celtics to get a win.

Game Notes
Last Season the Grizzlies and Celtics split the series 1‐1 with both teams winning on the road. Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo both averaged 17.5 points per game against the Grizzlies last season. Paul Pierce connected on 6‐of‐8 from beyond the arc in the two contests. Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies with an average of 25.5 points per game to go along with 7.5 rebound. O.J. Mayo averaged 19.0 points and shot 68.0% from the field.

The Grizzlies are fielding the same starting 5 as they had last season. The Celtics have 4 of the same starters with the Center position now filled by Shaquille O'Neal and hopefully Shaq will be good to go as Jermaine has returned to Boston for tests on his injured knee.

Keys to the Game
Take Care of the Ball- The Celtics have to concentrate on taking care of the ball as they tend to turn the ball over too much. The Grizzlies lead the league in steals (11.6) and in forcing turnovers (20.7) as well as in points off turnovers (22.7). If the Celtics get sloppy, the Grizzlies will make them pay for it.

Rebound - Rebounding is very important in limiting fast break points and second chance points for the Grizz. The Grizzlies are 2-0 when out- rebounding their opponents. The Celtics must be aggressive in crashing the boards.

Don't Settle for Jumpers - The Celtics have to take the ball into the paint and not settle for outside jumpers. Good things happen when they take the ball to the basket.

Defense - The team that works hardest on defense will be the team that wins. The Grizzlies are 4-0 when holding teams under 100 points but 0-5 when allowing teams to reach the 100 point mark. The Grizzlies are also limiting opponent to 92.3 PPG in their wins, but allowing 117.4 PPG in their losses. The Celtics must be the more aggressive team on defense.

Odd Fact
The nickname Grizzlies was chosen when the team was in Vancouver. They originally chose the name Mounties but that was abandoned following objections by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Grizzlies name was kept upon moving to Memphis.

X-Factor
Let Down
The Celtics are coming off an emotional win over the Heat and may tend to take the Grizzlies for granted. As with the Cavs after the first win over the Heat, taking the Grizzlies for granted would be a big mistake. They are under .500, but their 5 losses are against teams with a combined win percentage of .718. The Celtics can't afford to take this team lightly.

[Celtic17]

Now I need a cool night-light! ! !
Thanks FL,. I only have so much money to buy this fun stuff.

[jrmzt]

Lol FL did you deliberately find a nightlight that had the Celtics one turned on and the Grizzlies one turned off? Was that intentional? Haha I can't tell but if it was, nice symbolism


This is definitely a team that can give us trouble. Kinda like the Hawks..very young, very quick, and talented. Our stronger bench is what I think will be the difference.

[FLCeltsFan]

LOL the light thing was purely unintentional. But KP for catching that!

[yakyakyak (away)]

Those night lites look like a fire hazard in those pictures. Looks like smoke coming out from the top.

This is the kind of game that will go a long way in telling how good the Celtics really are. Young team with something to prove on a Saturday night at home.

Plus the return of Tony Allen although I heard he's fallen of the rotation due to inconsistent play.

[Celtic17]

73 all to start the 4th. Come on C's! ! !

[jrmzt]

Good to see Nate being the spark plug we saw from last year's playoffs.

[jrmzt]

lol pity rondo's lay up didnt go through..rondo raising his hands as if he were calling out a play , lure a defender into looking away and he just drives on him..woulda been so embarassing if that lay up went in.

[Celtic17]

OT - Again........

[jrmzt]

We seem to be getting lotsa OTs. But wow Rondo again...started off with no assists and suddenly ends up with 16.

[Roadrunner]

BOS doesn't win pretty, but a win is a win.

[kuberski]

I'll take the 3-1 road trip, especially with the win over the Lebronettes. We get a nice break, and Delonte back, which I think should reduce RayPaul's minutes. Nice game by Big Shamrock and Nate. We have multiple ways to beat teams, both from our starters and bench. Only concern I have at the moment is JON's knee. If a short-term thing, no problem, but if it lingers throughout the season, then I am worried. We need him come March....

[freshnthehouse]

Agreed. Great road trip.

[mev17]

A win is a win, but a little concerned about our defense. Second half vs Miami and in this game, we have a high shooting % against us. Hope we don't start falling into the old trap of wanting to out-score other teams rather than shutting them down.

[Celtic17]

Right Steve Kub and Mev.

btw - Posey is one I wished we would have kept.